There was one more question that was even more disturbing. What happens, wondered Neelah, when those reasons come to an end? When her life had no more value for Boba Fett, she could hardly expect a creature like him to keep her around out of mere sentiment. She had been no more than a dancing girl to Jabba; she was sure of that, having seen the slit pupils of the Hutt's eyes narrow upon sight of her, with the same malignant, destructive lusts that all things of beauty had evoked in his blubber-swaddled heart. Boba Fett wouldn't dispose of her just for the sake of whatever sick pleasure could be found in another creature's suffering, but for cold, hard credits. Neelah didn't find that to be any better arrangement. I wind up dead, she mused bitterly, either way.
Though there was another outcome possible. A long shot, but better than no chance at all. And much more to her liking. Somebody winds up dead, all right. She nodded slowly to herself. But it won't be me. . .
All she would have to do-if and when that final confrontation came-would be to take on the galaxy's number-one bounty hunter, a killing machine that other killers dreaded encountering. Take him on, thought Neelah, and take him out.
It wouldn't be easy.
But oddly, as slim as her chances might be-she found herself almost looking forward to that final encounter.
The course of Neelah's thoughts was interrupted by the clang of boot soles upon the treads of the ladder that stretched up from the cargo area to the cockpit of the appropriated Hound's Tooth. Neelah quickly started to close the access panel to the comm circuits, then relaxed when she saw that it was only Dengar climbing down the ladder.
"Nice job," said Neelah. She folded her arms across her chest and regarded him." You pretty much let him wrap you up into a neat little package, didn't you?"
Dengar stepped off the bottom of the ladder." What're you talking about?"
"Come on." She didn't care if Dengar knew that she had been listening in on the cockpit conversations. With her thumb, she pointed to the exposed wiring and the small listening device she had found in the ship's spare-parts locker and had spliced in." I heard everything you said. And everything Boba Fett said back to you." Neelah slowly shook her head." I can't say I was very impressed. At least, not with you."
With a sigh of pent-up breath, Dengar lowered himself onto a bare metal bench at the side of the cargo area." He's a tough customer." The bounty hunter's shoulders slumped forward, in a full kinetic display of defeat." That hunter might as well be made out of durasteel, from his skin into his heart. If he's got one."
"What were you expecting?"
Dengar shrugged." Pretty much what I got from him."
"You idiot," said Neelah." I mean, what were you trying to achieve? What were your plans when you started talking to Fett?"
"'Plans'?" A blank look crossed Dengar's face." Right now, I couldn't tell you."
"Great." Neelah's voice soured with disgust." We're both possibly riding to our deaths-right at this moment-and the only ally I might have is completely brain-dead."
"Hey-" The bounty hunter straightened up from his slump." That's not fair. You think it's so easy getting something out of Boba Fett, then you try it. I'll wait right here for you to come crawling back down that ladder."
"Take it easy. I'm sorry, okay?" As if her problems weren't bad enough, now she had to be concerned about this stressed-out creature's tender feelings. She'd just been reminding herself that Boba Fett didn't have any fragile sensibilities like that; why couldn't Dengar be the same?" Look," said Neelah," you and I are going to have to stick together-"
"Why?" Dengar peered suspiciously at her." What's in it for me? Hooking up with you, that is. I've already got a partnership going with Boba Fett. That's worth a lot more than being partner with someone like you."
"Really?" She couldn't keep an expression of wry amusement from showing on her face." And that's why you were up there in the cockpit right now, talking things over with Fett-just like partners." Neelah gave another shake of her head." I guess it just goes to show: there are partners, and then there are partners. And you're definitely one of the latter sort."
"Yeah? And what sort's that?"
"The disposable sort," said Neelah." Just as disposable as I am, except I don't have any illusions about it." With one hand, she gestured at the various pieces of equipment festooning the bulkheads of the ship's cargo area." See all this stuff? It used to belong to somebody else. That other bounty hunter-"
"Bossk. That's his name." Dengar nodded." And you're right; this was his ship."
All of the equipment's controls and handles were sized for a creature with claws rather than humanoid digits; Neelah could have wrapped both her hands around some of the pieces that would probably have been swallowed up by a single one of Bossk's fists.
"And look what happened to him." Neelah indicated the cockpit above with a tilt of her head." What Boba Fett did to him. It was easy, too; at least for Fett. And this Bossk, from all I've heard about him, was one tough customer as well." The Trandoshan bounty hunter had made a few appearances in Jabba the Hutt's palace during her stint as a dancing girl there, and she had listened in on some of the stories whispered about him. The tales might have indicated that Bossk was no genius, but his sheer viciousness and tenacity made up for any failings in the brain department." And Fett still managed to turn him around and inside out, and send him on his way, minus this ship."
"That took some doing, all right." Dengar rested the palm of his hand against the cold durasteel of the bulkhead behind him." The Hound's Tooth was Bossk's pride and joy. More than that: his weapons, his way of making a living. You couldn't have bought this ship from him, for any amount of money."
"Obviously, Boba Fett has another way of doing business." One corner of Neelah's mouth lifted in a humorless smile." Too bad for the creature on the other end of the deal. And too bad for you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Come on," said Neelah." Don't be any more of a fool than you absolutely have to be. Isn't it plain to see? Your little conference just now in the cockpit should have made it clear to you just what your relationship is with Boba Fett. If you've fallen for that partners nonsense, you're even more of an idiot than you appear to be."
A scowl darkened Dengar's face." That's hard talk, coming from somebody without a friend in the whole galaxy."
That remains to be seen, thought Neelah. For all she knew, with the ravaged state her memory was in, she might have friends-powerful ones, that would do anything for her-numbering in the legions. They could be looking for her right now. If they think I'm still alive. It all depended on just what circumstances had led to her being stuck in an out-of-the-way hole like the planet Tatooine.
It was a notion that continually resurfaced in her thoughts. But not one that she could spend any time dwelling on, right now. She had other, more pressing business to take care of.
"You're not an idiot; my apologies." Saying even that much grated against some deeply imbedded fiber in Neelah's character, a personality trait that had survived the memory wipe that had been performed on her. Other creatures were supposed to apologize to her, whether they were in the wrong or not; she felt certain that was the proper state of affairs. But for now, in this situation in which she'd found herself, she'd have to act otherwise." But there's something you've got to understand." Neelah sat down next to Dengar on the narrow ledge of the cargo area's bench. There was barely room for the two of them on the shelflike space; her shoulder and thigh were pressed close to his, with an exchange of body warmth passing through their coarse, functional garb." It's important," said Neelah as she brought her gaze down to meet his." You and I-we have to stick together. If we're going to survive."